# Balkan Sobranie: What's the big deal?!



## dls (Aug 3, 2007)

I hear everyone raving about this beloved, albeit lost, blend so I decided to go check it out on eBay. 100+ dollars for a 2oz tin?!? Is this tobacco really that good, or is it more of a collectible now? Sorry if this has already been asked, I didn't see it anywhere.


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## EvanS (Dec 29, 2006)

dls said:


> I hear everyone raving about this beloved, albeit lost, blend so I decided to go check it out on eBay. 100+ dollars for a 2oz tin?!? Is this tobacco really that good, or is it more of a collectible now? Sorry if this has already been asked, I didn't see it anywhere.


I kinda have the same question. It is widely considered to be one of the best of it's kind and, as you see, no longer available. I have no idea if it was SO desireable when it was available or has shortage made the heart grow fonder. I got gifted a couple bowls about 5 months ago and it was very good, but I can't say it blew my skirt up over my head.

But don't base anything on my tastebuds...I have suspicions.


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## burninator (Jul 11, 2006)

Don't know how these compare, but there's also a lot of two pouches of the stuff for sale now.


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## bonggoy (Mar 9, 2006)

I've only tried the Original Smoking Mixture but the ones from the tins are really good. Pouches ain't bad either. 

It was posted here it's because of the now gone Yenidje and Macedonian leaves. There's also over several years of aging difference between the two.


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## Bruce (Dec 31, 1999)

At first I pursued these for the "wow" factor....rare and vintage tobaccos. As my palate adjusted to pipes and finally figured out what the heck I was doing, I am now appreciating these blends for what they are........excellent tasting, complex smokes.

These are not (IMHO at least) tobaccos to smoke on a daily basis, but as a tobacco to fulfill a craving for a rich, full, complex smoke. Perfect for a cool fall evening!


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

i've had some samples of the stuff out of tins, as bruce sent me some, and Nooner let me dig in his jar full of it (before he gave what looked to be 6 oz to bonggoy :tu).

if you're a latakia lover, then this stuff is pretty damn great. penzance is nice, but this blows it away.

i have a few pouches, but have yet to open one up yet.

on the complex scale, i can't recall, it's been a while.
what IS going to be very complex is the ClubStogie blend, whenever that's finalized. very complex.


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## American Psycho-Analyst (Aug 14, 2007)

dls said:


> I hear everyone raving about this beloved, albeit lost, blend so I decided to go check it out on eBay. 100+ dollars for a 2oz tin?!? Is this tobacco really that good, or is it more of a collectible now? Sorry if this has already been asked, I didn't see it anywhere.


Somebody apparently needs to smoke Sobranie. Balkan Sobranie is by far and away my favorite tobacco. If I could afford to smoke it constantly, that's what I'd do; seriously, I'd smoke it CONSTANTLY; quit school, quit life, _smoke constantly_. There's just something about it.


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## dls (Aug 3, 2007)

Haha wow... I might have to pick up a pouch or two of this and just cellar it, so that one day once my palate is more developed I can appreciate it for the superlative blend it seems to be.


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## fireman43 (Oct 15, 2006)

Mister Moo told me about B.S. one time, and in a way I'm glad I've never tried it. If it's as good as it sounds, I know I would be like an addict trying to get a fix, and it's much better for me not to know what I'm missing so I don't think about it, if that makes any sense at all.


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## Bruce (Dec 31, 1999)

Here you go guys:

http://www.pipes2smoke.com/Vintage_pipe_tobacco.htm


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## fireman43 (Oct 15, 2006)

Thanks Bruce! Not a bad price being what it is... Dangit, now I'm thinking about it.:hn:r


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## American Psycho-Analyst (Aug 14, 2007)

Four pouches left from this supplier. Slightly better price. Just bought some from here myself: http://cgi.ebay.com/BALKAN-SOBRANIE...oryZ4119QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem


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## Tricker-cl (Jun 22, 2007)

There is a B&M that I go to that has theses pouches on their shelf. Pkg looks exactly the same. Is there a cheap copy of this stuff out there, or could this be the "holy grail"? They have it selling for $9 a pouch. Is there a telltale sign of a counterfeit? i was holding it in my hand this morning. I might have to go back tomorrow.

Sorry for the threadjack


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## sspolv (Dec 26, 2005)

IHT said:


> i've had some samples of the stuff out of tins, as bruce sent me some, and Nooner let me dig in his jar full of it (before he gave what looked to be 6 oz to bonggoy :tu).
> 
> if you're a latakia lover, then this stuff is pretty damn great. penzance is nice, but this blows it away.
> 
> ...


Oof! What a teaser! I had no clue we had a blend in the works and now you've set me to wondering.

As far as Balkan Sobranie, I can't say I've ever had it but I do want to try it. When I was in a very small town near my house, I did some window shopping (and actual shopping) at a very very very limited tobacco store (more of a general store, of anything). The thing that drew me in was a gigantic, and I mean GIGANTIC, Balkan Sobranie tin in the window. I never found out if it had tobacco in it or not...and I'm kicking myself for not asking. Personally, I really want to find some of this stuff. I have dreams of walking into a tiny New England tobacconist and finding a jackpot of it. One day it'll happen.

Think one might be able to find a sealed tin of this in an antique store somewhere? It worked for those cigars, maybe it'll work for this?


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## American Psycho-Analyst (Aug 14, 2007)

TRicker said:


> There is a B&M that I go to that has theses pouches on their shelf. Pkg looks exactly the same. Is there a cheap copy of this stuff out there, or could this be the "holy grail"? They have it selling for $9 a pouch. Is there a telltale sign of a counterfeit? i was holding it in my hand this morning. I might have to go back tomorrow.
> 
> Sorry for the threadjack


Is it Balkan Sasieni? The packages do look VERY similar.


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## Bruce (Dec 31, 1999)

This is the ORIGINAL BS:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...5217&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab=Watching

Why? Old blend. The tin is an old example of BS. Weight is in ounces rather grams. This the original blend and thus the cost. This will go even higher as the auction nears the end.
This is the legendary BS

I actually have a very old 1 ounce tin.....not made for a very long time. Has to be at least 40 years old!


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## Tricker-cl (Jun 22, 2007)

I'm calling them tomorrow am!! Pretty sure it was Sobranie, But I have been known to make a stupid mistake or 2 before(thinking Dominican glory was maduro Christmas cheer) lol



American Psycho-Analyst said:


> Is it Balkan Sasieni? The packages do look VERY similar.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

Bruce said:


> Here you go guys:
> 
> http://www.pipes2smoke.com/Vintage_pipe_tobacco.htm


you all can buy with confidence from Maxim. i've been on the "pipes2smoke" email list for quite some time now. good guy, fun to talk to (for a canadian), and will tell you what he thinks.


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## American Psycho-Analyst (Aug 14, 2007)

American Psycho-Analyst said:


> Four pouches left from this supplier. Slightly better price. Just bought some from here myself: http://cgi.ebay.com/BALKAN-SOBRANIE...oryZ4119QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem


I just got the pouches today that I ordered two days ago. Very fast shipping and the pouches are in pristine shape.


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## Puffy69 (Sep 8, 2005)

Its the Bomb!


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## smokinmojo (Jan 24, 2005)

It's hard to tell, with the product labeled Sobranie Mixture (Balkan Sobranie). If it is the latest production, the current conversion of 48.95 ZAR = 7.26 USD

is not bad.......

http://www.wesleys.co.za/tobaccopricelist.htm


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## American Psycho-Analyst (Aug 14, 2007)

Some quicky math: 6 pouches with shipping to the United States turns out to be $68.32! Wow!


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## EnyafanJT (Sep 7, 2005)

dls said:


> I hear everyone raving about this beloved, albeit lost, blend so I decided to go check it out on eBay. 100+ dollars for a 2oz tin?!? Is this tobacco really that good, or is it more of a collectible now? Sorry if this has already been asked, I didn't see it anywhere.


 to me it is a question of what do you like that you can afford. i have smoked damn near everything high dollar/rare/limited edition, you name it. btw i smoked these when they first came out,lol. are 300 dollar tins worth the money? why of course not. is any old pipe tobacco 30 times better than a newer counterpart? i think not. does a fancy 400 dollar pipe smoke 8 times better than a 50 dollar pipe? of course it doesn't. would it be nice to smoke a fancy pipe with ultra expensive tobacco? hell yeah it would. now i have smoked some older tins with syrian latakia that are great. i have smoked 30-40 yr old tins that tasted like total crap. that is the beauty of pipes. each person has thier own tastes. if one feels the need to buy expensive pipes and tobaccos, hell go for it. i would just like newer smokers to know you don't have to go out and get old or rare tobaccos to enjoy the hobby. i apologize if i have ranted too much, just the way i feel. i also apologize for the fact i don't know how to split sentences up into paragrahs.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

EnyafanJT said:


> i also apologize for the fact i don't know how to split sentences up into paragrahs.


iamveryfondofbananacreampie! :tu

hey, it all reads the same. and i agree with you, other than that i haven't had all those experiences with old tobacco and uber expensive pipes.


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## tfar (Dec 27, 2007)

Are you guys talking about this blend?
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend_detail.cfm?ALPHA=7&TID=1069

It is called the 759. Just saw a tin on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/BALKAN-SOBRANIE...goryZ596QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It does have a different image and the pouch on pipes2smoke does not have the 759 marking. Or is the 759 an even more elusive thing?

Till


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## JacksonCognac (Nov 12, 2007)

FWIW (a long while past the initial post) this stuff can sill be found in pouch form @ $20-30 for a 50 gram pouch. Expensive? Yeah. Worth it? I dunno... probably worth tasting if you are into pipe tobacco.... if for any reason to see what its all about. The tins go for way more then the pouches. Lookin at ~$100 a tin... I guess the metal makes it taste better?


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## Isombitch (May 16, 2006)

The recently made pouches were blended after the fire that claimed almost all of the Syrian Latakia AND by the company that bought the name and blending recipes. Also, the same quality yenidje tobacco is not available.

On the other hand, the original tins are 20 plus years old and, while still an interesting smoke, I'm sure, must be quite different.

I used to smoke it and the Turkish cigarettes in the white tins. I miss the blend so badly I could cry. :dr


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## Bruce (Dec 31, 1999)

JacksonCognac said:


> FWIW (a long while past the initial post) this stuff can sill be found in pouch form @ $20-30 for a 50 gram pouch. Expensive? Yeah. Worth it? I dunno... probably worth tasting if you are into pipe tobacco.... if for any reason to see what its all about. The tins go for way more then the pouches. Lookin at ~$100 a tin... I guess the metal makes it taste better?


The tinned BS and 759 is from an earlier era. Aged longer so the taste is different. Also, the older tins from the 60's/70's had better varietal leaf blended in.....better quality tobaccos.
The pouch versions pale in comparison to a tin from the 70's. Age is one factor, the tobaccos the other.


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## JacksonCognac (Nov 12, 2007)

Makes sense. Thanks for clarifying as this is something I still didn't completely understand.


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## smokinmojo (Jan 24, 2005)

Bruce said:


> The pouch versions pale in comparison to a tin from the 70's. Age is one factor, the tobaccos the other.


With the cost of buying the current production at least "reasonable", I bought 6 pouches and canned 5 of them to be smoked at a much later date. (maybe somebody else lifetime.)

I also bought the new tinned Balkan Sasieni and PS Balkan Supreme. (All different vendors of course)

BSOB....300g $59.90 shipped (exchange rate a couple months ago)
BSAS....150g $24.13 shipped
BSUP....454g $27.00 shipped

Good balkan blends at a reasonable to great price.


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## mcdevster (May 31, 2008)

its kind of crazy that the empty tins themselves sell for 15-20 dollars... but hey collectors are a strange breed.


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